Finding Book Reviews

A review usually appears within a year or two of a book's publication. Some reviews are long and scholarly, and can provide important information about a book's style, quality, and the credentials of the author. Other reviews may just give a summary of a book's content and plot; in either case, a review is a contemporary, critical reaction to a book, often reflecting a reviewer's own tastes or that of the prevailing current critical opinion. Book reviews are distinct from the more in-depth analysis of literary criticism which can, and often does, appear long after a book's publication.

To find a book review, it is important to know:

• author's full name
• title of the book
• year of publication

• The great majority of books never get reviewed at all.
• Reviews do not always appear the same year that the book was published. You may have to check indexes for a year or two following the publication date.
• Indexes usually cover certain dates. If your book was written in 1875, for example, you will use an index other than one that covers contemporary novels.

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Reviews published in scholarly journals, popular magazines, newspapers, and other serial publications are listed in periodical indexes. Below is a select list of indexes that will lead you to citations, and, in some cases to the full text of the article. Items marked are available only to current UCSB students, faculty and staff. For off-campus access to these and other electronic resources, see off-campus FAQ.

 Alternative Press Index 1991 - present

Full-text coverage of newspapers, magazines, and academic journals of the alternative, radical and independent press. From the Advanced Search screen, use the dropdown menu for Article Type Phrase and choose "book reviews". For reviews before 1991 see Alternative Press Index Archive, below.
 

  Alternative Press Index

Main Ref Z7163 A46

 

  Alternative Press Index Archive 1969 - 1990

See Alternative Press Index (above) for search categories.

 

 America: History and Life

Citations to articles on the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Click the blue Book Reviews box just under the text boxes to limit results.

 

  American Book Reviews

Main Ref Z1035 A1 A43

 

 American Periodicals Series Online 1740 1870 (approximate)

Includes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from 1740 to 1900. To search: click on advanced search. In the first box, select "article type" and then enter review. In the second box, enter the author's last name and title of the book.

 

  Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL) 1920 - present

The online version of ABELL is one of many collections available through the Literature Online (LION) database. From the "Search: Criticism and Reference" screen, click the "Reviews" box at the bottom of the screen.

  Arts and Humanities Citation Index 1975 - present

Part of Web of Science. Click the General Search button, enter author name in text box, then use the Book Review option from the scrolling menu at the bottom of the page. Note: use only the author's last name and first initial.

  Biography Resource Center

The electronic version of Gale's Dictionary of Literary Biography and several other reference sources, BRC provides detailed information on the lives and writings of nearly 100,000 authors, including in many cases links to articles and critical commentary. Click the tab marked "Magazine Articles" at the top of the page.

  Black Issues Book Review

Available as part of Ethnic NewsWatch. Browse the Publication Name text box and choose Black Issues Book Review.

 

  Black Literature Criticism

Main Ref PS 153 N5 B556

 

  Book Review Digest 1983 - present

Citations and excerpts of reviews of current English-language fiction and non-fiction books for adults and children. An abstract of each book is also provided. See Essay & General Literature Index below for search strategies.

Print version: Main Ref Index Area Z1219 B65

 

  Book Review Index

Main Ref Index Area Z1219 B66

 

  British Humanities Index

Main Ref A13 B72

 

  Cambridge Guide to Literature in English

Main Ref PR 85 C29 1992

 

  Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews up to 1980's

Good source for reviews. Index is arranged by author and title. Main Ref Index Area Z1035 A1 V64

 

  Contemporary Women's Issues 1992 - present

Covers over 1500 sources published by more than 200 organizations around the world. Includes reviews of feminist scholarship in literature and the arts. Choose Book Review from the drop-down menu next to Article Type.

  Essay & General Literature Index 1985 - present

Essays and articles contained in collections of essays, anthologies, miscellaneous works, annuals, and serial publications published in the U.S., Great Britain, and Canada. From the list of database choices, click Essay & General Literature. You can also select Book Review Digest, which is a good way to do simultaneous searches in both these databases. Your results list will indicate which database is providing each record.

  Ethnic NewsWatch dates vary; roughly 1975 - present

Index to over 200 publications of the ethnic, minority and native press. Nearly 500,000 complete articles dating back to 1990 are available, along with archival material dating back to the mid 1980's. Use the Advanced Search and choose Document Type from the first dropdown menu. Then click the Browse Document Type link (to the right) and select book review.

  Expanded Academic ASAP 1980 - present

Citations and many full-text articles from thousands of scholarly, trade and general interest publications. Keyword search example: bluest eye book review.

  Gale Literary Criticism Index

Main Ref PNPN523 W45 1945

 

  Gale Literary Criticism Series

Main Ref PN761 N56 - PN771 C59

 

  Global Books in Print

A useful source for locating information about older, new, and forthcoming books.

  Guide to Critical Reviews of Fictions 1870 - 1910

Main Ref Z1225 E35

 

  Index to Book Reviews in England 1749 - 1774

An index to reviews of poetry, fiction and drama from the major review journals and magazines of the period.
Main Ref Index Area Z 1035 A1 F67 1990

 

  Index to Book Reviews in England 1775 - 1800

An index to reviews of poetry, fiction and drama from the major review journals and magazines of the period.
Main Ref Index Area Z 1035 A1 F675 19975

 

  Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities

Main Ref Index Area Z1219 I5

 

  Iter: Gateway to the Renaissance 1843 - present

Iter contains approximately 135,000 records from scholarly journals pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Click the icon marked "Search a Database (Subscribers Only)", then choose "Iter Bibliography" from the next page. Go to the Advanced Search page, enter your book title in the "any field" text box at the top of the screen, then choose "review" from the dropdown menu at the bottom of the screen.

  The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism

The online version of Johns Hopkins' Guide to Literary Theory, edited by Michael Groden and Martin Kreiswirth.

  JSTOR dates vary

An archive (not an index) of major scholarly journals across the humanities and social sciences. All issues of JSTOR journals up to 2-5 years ago have been digitized; the most recent year available for any particular journal varies. From the Advanced screen, click the reviews box.

  LION: Literature Online dates vary

LION is a comprehensive literature database that includes ABELL (Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature) and over 180 full-text journals, as well as reference works and full-text poetry. The default ‘quick search’ is the easiest way to start. For biographical information, click the yellow ‘author index’ link in the left margin.

  Literature Resource Center dates vary

LRC is a huge database of literary biographies, bibliographies, reviews, and critical analyses from every age and literary discipline. Currently there is no option to limit your search to book reviews, so the best work-around is to go to the Advanced search screen and type "book review" (no quotation marks) in the first text box, and change the dropdown menu to Keyword. In the next text box type your book title. Finally, in the dropdown menu at lower right, change database to "Full-text Journals.

  Medieval Feminist Index 1994 - present

Index to journal articles, book reviews, and essays in books about women, sexuality and gender during the Middle Ages. In English, French, German and Spanish. From the Advanced Search, type "book review" in the text box next to Article Type, then enter your book title or author in the appropriate box.

  MLA International Bibliography 1981 - present

Although the MLA International Bibliography does not include book reviews, it is a valuable resource for literary research and criticism. This is a citation index (no full text) covering the world's research literature in language, linguistics, literature, and folklore in all languages. The scope is so large that you may want to first limit your search by language, format, or year. Use the UC-eLinks to track down the actual article or source of the citation.

  MLA International Bibliography

Main Ref Z7006 M6

  New York Times Index

Click "more search options" from bottom of the screen. Then choose "review" from the Document Type pulldown menu.

Historical (1851 - 2003)

Current (1999 - present)

  New York Times Index

Main Ref AI21.N44

  19th Century Masterfile 1800 - early 1900's

The web version of Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, 19th Century Masterfile has expanded into a collection of databases indexing various forms of literature and government documents. Includes full text links to Harper's Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, and North American Review.

  Periodicals Archive Online 1665 - 1995

Full-text version of Periodicals Index Online (below).

  Periodicals Index Online 1665 - 1995

An index of nearly 5,000 scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences from their first issues to 1995, some full text. The scope is international. Many (but not all) have book reviews. From the "Article Search" screen, type your book's title into the keyword box and click the Book Reviews option on the right.

  Project MUSE Journals dates vary

A searchable index of over 250 university press journals. From the Advanced Search page you can limit to Review in the "by type" text box at the bottom of the page.

  Reader's Guide Retrospective 1890 - 1982

The electronic version of the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature (see Printed Indexes below) indexes the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States, including Book Review Digest and The New York Times Book Review. Enter your book title into the first text box, then choose "feature" (more reliable than "Book Review") from the document-type text box at the bottom of the page.

  Readers Guide to Periodical Literature

Main Ref Index Area A13 R4

  Web of Science dates vary

Web of Science consists of three databases: Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Science Citation Index Expanded. Together these cover thousands of research journals across hundreds of disciplines. All three databases are updated weekly. Click the General Search button, enter author name in text box, then use the Book Review option from the scrolling menu at the bottom of the page. Note: use only the author's last name and first initial.

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 Alternative Press Index

Full-text coverage of nearly 400 newspapers, magazines, and academic journals of the alternative, radical and independent press. From the Advanced Search screen, use the dropdown menu next to Article Type Phrase and choose "book reviews".

Print version: Main Ref Z7163 A46.

 

  American Book Reviews

Main Ref Z1035 A1 A43

 

 American Periodicals Series Online

Includes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from 1740 to 1900. To search: click on advanced search. In the first box, select "article type" and then enter review. In the second box, enter the author's last name and title of the book.

  Biography Resource Center dates vary

The electronic version of Gale's Dictionary of Literary Biography and several other reference sources, BRC provides detailed information on the lives and writings of nearly 100,000 authors, including in many cases links to articles and critical commentary. Click the tab marked "Magazine Articles" at the top of the page.

  Book Review Digest 1983 - present

A bibliographic database that provides citations and excerpts of reviews of current English-language fiction and non-fiction books for adults and children. An abstract of each book is also provided. See Essay & General Literature Index below for search strategies.

Print version: Main Ref Index Area Z1219 B65

 

  Book Review Index

Main Ref Index Area Z1219 B66

 

  Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews 1886 - 1974

One of the best sources for reviews of books written in the mid-20th century. Index in arranged by author and title.

Main Ref Index Area Z1035 A1 V64

 

  Early American Newspapers 1690 - 1876

Reproductions of historic newspapers.

  Ethnic NewsWatch

Index to over 200 publications of the ethnic, minority and native press. Nearly 500,000 complete articles dating back to 1990 are available, along with archival material dating back to the mid 1980's. Use the Advanced Search and enter "book reviews" in the type of article text box.

  Expanded Academic ASAP 1980 - present

Citations and many full-text articles from thousands of scholarly, trade and general interest publications. Keyword search example: "bluest eye book review".

  Global Books in Print dates vary

A useful source for locating information about older, new, and forthcoming books.

  Historical Abstracts 1967 - present

Historical Abstracts contains citations to articles from 2,000 journals on world history from 1450 to the present (excluding the U.S. and Canada, which is covered in America: History and Life) In the Advanced Search, type "review article" in the keyword text box, then type the title of your book in the title/translation text box.

  Index to Book Reviews in England 1749 - 1774

An index to reviews of poetry, fiction and drama from the major review journals and magazines of the period. Main Ref Index Area Z 1035 A1 F67 1990

 

  Index to Book Reviews in England 1775 - 1800

An index to reviews of poetry, fiction and drama from the major review journals and magazines of the period. Main Ref Index Area Z 1035 A1 F675 19975

 

  Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities

Main Ref Index Area Z1219 I5

 

  Lexis-Nexis Academic

Full text of national and regional newspapers, wire services, broadcast transcripts, international news, and non-English language sources. Select News from the list of choices along the left margin. In Step One, choose Arts & Sports News from the drop- down menu. In Step Two, choose Book, movie, music, & play reviews, then enter your search terms.

 

  Los Angeles Times Index

Click "more search options" from bottom of the screen. Then choose "review" from the Document Type pulldown menu.

Historical (1881 - 1985)

Current (1999 - present)
 

  Literature Resource Center

Access to biographies, bibliographies, reviews, and critical analyses of more than 120,000 authors from every age and literary discipline. Enter the name of your book, either with or without the author's name (e.g. "kitchen god and tan" or just "kitchen god"), then use the drop-down menu at the bottom of the page to limit your search to "Critical Essay".

  New York Times Index

Click "more search options" from bottom of the screen. Then choose "review" from the Document Type pulldown menu.

Historical (1851 - 2003)

Current (1999 - present)
 

  Reader's Guide Retrospective

The electronic version of the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature indexes the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States, including Book Review Digest and The New York Times Book Review. Current coverage for this database includes the years 1890 through 1982. Enter your book title into the first text box, then choose "feature" from the document-type text box at the bottom of the page.

Print version: Main Ref Index Area A13 R4

  Wall Street Journal Index

Click "more search options" from bottom of the screen. Then choose "review" from the Document Type pulldown menu.

Historical (1889 - 1989)

Current (1999 - present)
 

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PEGASUS is the online catalog for the UCSB libraries. While most of your book review searches will be done using indexes, you can search PEGASUS by keyword to find book chapters that might include a review or criticism of your book. You will also use title searches on PEGASUS to find the title of the journal that a particular review appears in.

Melvyl is the online catalog for all UC Libraries.

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  Acqwebs Directory of Book Reviews on the Web

  Booklist

  Boston Book Review

  H-Net Reviews

  Literary Resources on the Net (Jack Lynch, Rutgers University)

  Metacritic

  New York Review of Books

  Online Literary Criticism Collection

  Perspectives in American Literature (PAL)

  Reviewsofbooks.com

  Voice of the Shuttle

  Yahoo's Literary Authors Listing

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